The present invention relates to firearm safety in general and to firearms with authorization systems in particular.
There have been numerous improvements to firearm safety over the years. Historically, firearm safeties were of the type that, when the user wanted to fire the weapon, he or she moved a safety lever or catch from the “on” position to the “off”position. None of these safeties, however, questions the authority of the user who intends to fire the firearm. Any user may intentionally fire the firearm.
More recently, firearms have been designed with authorization systems. These systems attempt to verify that the user is permitted to fire the firearm. An unauthorized user cannot fire the firearm equipped with an authorization system. Typically, these systems rely on some means of identification: the user enters a code on a keypad on the firearm or has a key that unlocks the firearm, or the firearm has the capability to read a particular individual's fingerprint. Another type of authorization system relies on a “personal device” worn by the authorized user that communicates using radio-frequency transmitters and receivers with electronic circuits carried in the firearm.
Various design considerations must be taken into account when designing an authorization system particularly for law enforcement use. Authorization systems must be designed to be difficult for criminals to defeat. Police officers operate in different environments than users of target shooting pistols. Authorization systems that rely on battery power must have a ready-to-fire condition even if the battery is dead and ideally require only limited power so as to prolong battery life. Accordingly, there remains a need for an authorization system that operates reliably, that does not drain its batteries quickly, and that is particularly suited for law enforcement use.